Liverpool and Carlo Ancelotti are no strangers. When the Italian coach leads his La Liga champions Real Madrid out into the Stade de France on Saturday, it will be the fourth time he has encountered the Reds in a European Cup final, in a roundabout way.
As a player, Ancelotti was part of the Roma team that lost to Joe Fagan's treble-winning side of 1984 on penalties - Bruce Grobbelaar's wobbly legs et al - in the Olympic stadium. But the midfielder played no part in the match as he was injured. Since then he has come up against Liverpool twice as manager of AC Milan, first in the 'miracle of Istanbul' final in 2005, before winning Milan's seventh European Cup years later in Athens against Rafa Benitez' side.
Now as the boss of Spanish giants Madrid, the one-time Everton manager is preparing to face a familiar foe from Merseyside again on Saturday, where he will attempt to become the first coach in football history to win the Champions League on four separate occasions.
